title: Myosin light chain kinases and phosphatase in mitosis and cytokinesis.
abstract: At mitosis, cells undergo drastic alterations in morphology and cytoskeletal organization including cell rounding during prophase, mitotic spindle assembly during prometaphase and metaphase, chromatid segregation in anaphase, and cytokinesis during telophase. It is well established that myosin II is a motor responsible for cytokinesis. Recent reports have indicated that myosin II is also involved in spindle assembly and karyokinesis. In this review, we summarize current understanding of the functions of myosin II in mitosis and cytokinesis of higher eukaryotes, and discuss the roles of possible upstream molecules that control myosin II in these mitotic events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, Rutgers, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. matsumura@biology.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamakita
authors.forename: Shigeko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048749:Cytokinesis; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis; D024462:Myosin Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D009219:Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D043263:Myosin-Light-Chain Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009219:Myosin-Light-Chain Kinase; D043263:Myosin-Light-Chain Phosphatase; D024462:Myosin Type II